Why is it necessary with American remakes of Swedish films? Can't the American audience watch films in another language and setting than American?

I'm just back from the pictures, daugther and her friends have seen that Justin Bieber film. "The best film ever'!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" If you ask them, that is. I'm having my doubts though.

Anyway, I saw 'Let me in', remake of a Swedish vampire film, based on the book 'Let the right one in' by John Ajvide Lindqvist. It was the same film as the original, dialogue, setting, scenes, the lot. Why the trouble of making a new version? Same goes for The Girl with the Dragon tattoo. They're even making that one in Stockholm, same places as the Swedish original.

Back to order; the film was rubbish, just as the original was. But that's not the point. Why the remakes? This bothers me, or maybe irritates is a better fitting word. I still remember what HW did to the brilliant French film Nikita. That! was scary.

Truthfully, I think there are several things going on here: 1. If it's a great story and has been successful elsewhere, Hollywood wants to cash in on it. 2. There's some cultural arrogance involved. We invented (commercial) movies; nobody can do it the way we can. 3. The hegemony of English: we think everyone ought to speak it so we don't really pay attention to anything in other languages, therefor there's less money to be made in a foreign film (see #1); 4. Americans think only egghead intellectuals watch foreign films so (see #1). 5. We're just fucking lazy and nobody reads here if they don't have to.

Those are pretty harsh, all of them. Unfortunately the sametype of thinking is growing here. Only American films, with subtitles, are worth watching. Foreign films are weird. Intellectuals should be hidden. You can tell we're influenced.

Can't the American audience watch films in another language and setting than American?

Nope. They require their movies to be Hollywood-ized and dumbed-down and cast with actors they've seen in a thousand other movies. And subtitles? Forget it! That would require READING and that's just too close to WORK!

It makes me crazy. They have a big video store called Blockbuster here and they used to have a huge section called Sundance/Foreign/Independent films. I used to rent movies from that section every single time I went in. In fact, I'd go straight to that section and sometimes I'd go look at the newer movies, or I'd just leave with my foreign or independent films.

And, then they got rid of the section. They just interspersed all of the foreign and independent films in with all the other movies. You know why? They told me they made more money renting games than foreign/independent films. But it makes it almost impossible to find a hidden gem because you really have to look hard.

I'd call it the 'dumbing down' of America, but we have been dumb for a long time. Now we are just dumber!

Speaking of hidden gems;all we have mainly American action films for rent. I'm afraid that we're heading towards the same as you are, foreign films are scary. You can't understand them! And not one 'real' gangsta to be seen.